Vincent de Gournay
Jean Claude Marie Vincent, Marquis de Gournay (born May 28, 1712 in Saint-Malo , † June 27, 1759 in Cádiz ) was a French economist.
Gournay came from a family of Breton ship chandlers and was the son of a wealthy merchant. He also learned this profession and then worked in various shops. In 1744 he entered the service of the Navy Ministry. In 1751 Gournay was promoted to trade director ("Intendant de Commerce"). In this position he began to be interested in the importance of economics and translated the writings of Josuah Child , David Hume and Josiah Tucker (1713–1799).
Gournay supported Richard Cantillon's ideas from the start . This is probably why he was appointed teacher of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot .
He is considered a great proponent of economic liberalism. The motto is ascribed to him: "Laissez faire, laissez passer, le monde va de lui-même" (for example: "Let it happen, let it pass, the world goes on by itself") .
The term bureaucratie (French: bureaucratie) was coined by him and shortly afterwards adopted into German.
Vincent de Gournay died on June 27, 1759 in Cádiz at the age of 47. Today he is seen as one of the founders of the Physiocracy as a reaction against the one-sidedness of mercantilism .
Works
- Observations sur l'état de la Compagnie des Indes (1759)
literature
- Gustave Schelle: Vincent de Gournay . Slatkine Reprints, Geneva 1984, ISBN 2-05-100570-2 (Repr. Of the Paris 1897 edition)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gournay, Vincent de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gournay, Jean Claude Marie Vincent Marquis de (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French economist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 28, 1712 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saint Malo |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 27, 1759 |
| Place of death | Cadiz |